Uncanny Valley 

First theorized by Japanese roboticist Masahiro Mori in 1970, the Uncanny Valley basically states that the closer a robot or other nonhuman entity gets to resembling a human, the more humans will like and empathize with it.

However, there is a point in development where humans instead become strongly repulsed by the barely-human robot/entity. Fortunately, this effect fades as the robot/entity becomes less distinguishable from a human.

Although hotly debated, the theory is present in many sci-fi movies and the like, and has been used to explain people's reactions to some computer generated characters.

I can't get into "Rumble Roses" because the girls just don't look quite right to me. I guess it's the Uncanny Valley at work.

Uncanny Valley by Civan August 6, 2006

uncanny valley 

The unnaturally wide gap between breasts
"enhanced" with artificial implants.

Natural cleavage is more attractive than
a noticeable uncanny valley.

uncanny valley by Whoppit December 1, 2010

Uncanny Valley 

weird as fuck, like insaane like shook the haus boots downt!

“i heard jillian died of botulism!” “*gasps* bitch thats uncanny valley!!!”

Uncanny Valley by jeexee September 23, 2023

Uncanny Valley 

The Uncanny Valley is a feeling of mixed emotions, like disgust and familiarity at the same time. Like feeling love and hate at the same time, with little in between. People with certain personalities can evoke uncanny valley feelings, people with narcissism, or certain mental health conditions that have a duality to them, can evoke feelings of sympathy and contempt at the same time. It can be expressed mathematically as a reverse bell curve.

The Uncanny Valley of Narcissism is that the person is simulatenously charming and cruel, affectionate and withholding, super fun, yet boring, opinionated, yet stands for nothing. Because you never know if you're getting jekyll or hyde, the target feels an uncanny valley of emotions.

Uncanny Valley by Siouxsie Supertramp November 24, 2023

Uncanny Valley 

/ʌnˌkæn.i ˈvæl.i/ noun.

A cognitive phenomenon identified by robotics professor Masahiro Mori in 1970, the 'Uncanny Valley' effect is an inverted bell curve signifying a general tendency of humans to experience less affinity for mechanical objects as their appearance, movements, and sounds approach human resemblance as a robot. This decline in affinity becomes discomfort because as the machine more approximates a human body and head, and peaks where the face most accurately resembles a human face while the expressions it is programmed with, not being as intricate or precise as real human expressions, create a more 'alive but inhuman' impression.
As the physical appearance, movements, expressions, and vocalizations of the robot begin to more approximate those of a human, that 'creep factor' declines until the human form, face, movements, expressions, and vocalizations (and perhaps scents, breathing patterns, and pulse) is replicated by the robot at which point human discomfort with the robot would, theoretically, vanish.

"I just met Ron DeSantis and shook his hand. It was so cold and clammy. All my hairs stood on end and I was shaking because the uncanny valley feeling he gave me... dude, I need a drink. He's not real. He's just... he's not human. No soul.... no soul... no soul. Let's get that drink. Dude? Dude, what are you looking at? Why aren't you looking at m...

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!! OH GOD NO! YOU'RE RON DESANTIS!!!! AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH......."

"Honey?" *Shaking him* "Honey, wake up!"

*Waking up* "Whu... whu? Omg, baby... it was just a dream. I was with Brad and we just met Ron Desantis, and he had this wicked strong uncanny valley vibe... and then... and then Brad was Ron DeSantis.... I..."

"Shhhh honey, it's okay. It was just a dream. I'm here now."

"Is that Dozer under the covers with us?"

"Yeah honey." *too Dozer under covers* "Hey Dozie! Who's a good boy! See honey? It's Dozer."
*Throws cover off*

"Hi Buddy! I'm Ron DeSantis and I eat children.... 's textbooks. I mean meet, uhhh. oh, 'yeetie'. I 'yeetie' children's..."

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" -but forever.

The End

BSBuzzsaw.com

Uncanny Valley by BSBuzzsaw.com December 1, 2023

Mythological Uncanny Valley

The intense, skin-crawling psychological discomfort experienced when encountering an ancient mythological entity, god, or cryptid that looks almost human, but its proportions, behavioral logic, or cosmic nature are fundamentally wrong. Unlike standard horror monsters designed to just scare you, an entity in the Mythological Uncanny Valley triggers a deep, evolutionary dread because it mimics human anatomy, language, or divinity to infiltrate your sense of reality, while operating on an incomprehensible, non-human frequency.
This phenomenon is the cornerstone of cosmic-mythological sci-fi (like the Abzuverse). It happens when a deity—such as a Sumerian Anunna, an Egyptian Netjeru, or a biblical angel—is stripped of its sanitized, modern pop-culture look and restored to its primordial, terrifying truth. You aren't just looking at a "guy with glowing eyes"; you are looking at a living physical law, a sentient mathematical equation, or a cosmic force trying to squeeze its true, multidimensional form into a fragile humanoid avatar. The closer it gets to looking like us, the more your brain screams that it is an existential threat.

Person A: "Man, I was reading this lore where the ancient gods aren't just giant humans, but cosmic frequencies that take on humanoid shapes just so our minds don't melt. It gave me the chills."
Person B: "Oh yeah, that's that peak Mythological Uncanny Valley energy. It's way creepier when a god looks 99% like a normal person, but their eyes don't blink in sync, and their voice sounds like a chorus of overlapping radio static."
Person A: "Exactly! It makes you realize how terrifyingly small and fragile humans actually are."

Mythological Uncanny Valley by Abzu & Anki October 14, 2026

uncanny word valley

The unsettling, visceral discomfort caused when familiar language is phrased in a way that is understandable but feels strangely unnatural, grotesque, or wrong.

"The phrase ‘reposition her entire skeleton’ sent me straight into the uncanny word valley.”

uncanny word valley by vallyxkitten October 15, 2026